The men’s and women’s national teams of Argentina achieved an impressive double success at the weekend by winning their respective South American Championships without losing a match. Both teams overcame host nation Chile in the tournament finals, with Argentina’s men winning 4-3 while Las Leonas cruised to a 4-0 victory.
The men were pushed all the way by Chile, but goals from Lucas Vila, Lucas Rossi, Gonzalo Peillat and an own goal were enough for the top-ranked team to win the title. Lucas Vila finished as the tournament top scorer with an incredible tally of 15, ahead of team mates Guillermo Schickendantz (12) and Gonzalo Peillat (10).
Argentina’s women powered to victory in their final, with Giselle Juarez scoring twice in a 4-0 triumph. Las Leonas scored 48 goals and conceded just three in their six tournament matches, although the winner of the tournament top scorer went to Chile’s Paula Infante, who scored a total of 12.
The South American Championship was played at the Stadium of the Catholic University in San Carlos de Apoquindo, Santiago, a venue that has a magnificent views of the surrounding mountains. Both the men’s and the women’s competitions featured Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Peru, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The tournament was played in a Round Robin format, with the top two teams in the standings advancing to the Gold medal match while the 3rd and 4th ranked teams played-off for Bronze. With six matches a day over six days of intense competition, the fans were treated to a fantastic showing of top class hockey.
There were many exciting moments as well as some surprising results, with the lower-ranked teams becoming more competitive as they gained experience as the tournament progressed.
More information about all of the action from ther South American Championships can be found on the below links (External Link: Pan American Hockey Federation).
